Wake Up
I sat up in my bed, heart racing.
My feet fell to the floor and I began pacing.
The house was quiet, empty, and wide,
But it also gave me a safe place to hide.
I wondered what happened the night before,
Wondered what happened when I had hit the floor.
I saw no one I knew as I walked through the town.
Despite that, they all greeted me with a frown.
They whispered under their breath insane things.
“Wake up,” “wake up,” “you’re in a dream.”
I’m walking around when I hit my head,
And that’s when I wake up in a hospital bed.
I open my eyes, and the doctor was amazed.
“Lauren, you had been in a coma for 58 days.”
Know-It-All
Other’s call me a know-it-all, but I don’t know anything.
I can give information, but you will not know how much of it is true.
I can learn, but can easily lose my progress.
I have a bit of everything, but if I had to focus on one thing, you would lose me.
You may be wondering what my name is, dear reader.
I know you have heard it before.
The know-it-all who knows nothing at all is none other than the one you trust most: Google.
Sun Child
It had been fifteen years since the sun had last risen.
There had been no more smiles or water that glistened.
There had been no more picnics or long days at the beach.
There had been no more days where hope was within reach.
Others found this change hard, but not I.
For all I had to do was yell out a cry.
This cry went for my daughter, a girl with red hair.
Her eyes were brown and her skin was fair.
I let out the call for my daughter each morn,
because the last sunset happened the night she was born.
A Twisted Fairytale
She gazed over the living with hollow eyes.
Her white cloak dragged behind her in a long, white trail.
Mist curled around her fingers like rings.
She sat on a concrete coffin laced with roses.
You thought you knew this woman, but no.
The woman you knew is a dream.
A fairytale.
Now, it’s time for you to meet the real Snow White.
The Girl Inside the Cave
When I stepped out of the cave, the first thing I noticed was the warmth.
Heat wrapped around my skin like a blanket. It tingled as though little ants were marching up and down my arms and neck.
Once my eyes adjusted from the dark, I saw the color. Bright blue skies, dark green forests, even the small bits of purples and reds from the people below.
I tried looking at the source, but it burned. The most I could see was a small silhouette through squinted eyes.
I laughed, the sound not much more than a rasp. I haven’t used my voice in a long time.
There were many sounds. Running water. Grass blowing in the wind. Voices talking from below.
I was raised here, in the isolation of the cave. But I was done. I was leaving the cave and everything it meant behind.
It was time to start a new life.
The Missing Piece
I don’t know why I’m being told to do this. I’ve never actually written in a diary before, or written anything about my personal life for that matter. It seems stupid. But, here I am, withering in this cell. So, here it goes.
My day started off perfectly fine. I woke up, fed my dog, ate breakfast, all that stuff. I started on the finishing touches on the lecture I was going to teach tomorrow. The lesson was on the history of poison, ironically enough.
Something wasn’t quite clicking for the ending. It didn’t seem…real enough. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I didn’t have time to decode it—I was late for the gym.
I started my way to the gym when I bumped into someone on the street. It was a man wearing all black.
“Watch where you’re going, dude!” He looked real shady, carrying a bag that sounded of crinkling plastic.
I noticed that he dropped one of these small bags on the ground. I picked it up and handed it to him.
“Maybe secure your bag next time.”
The guy looked between myself and the bag. “You won’t tell nobody you saw this, okay?”
“Depends. What is it?”
He looked scared. “Nothing, dude. Just some stuff.”
“If it’s just stuff,” I said as I leaned in, “then why the fear?”
“Fine, it’s ILLEGAL stuff, happy?”
What I was missing in my lecture finally came to me. “Hey, could I actually keep this?”
He barked out a laugh. “If you can pay for it, sure.”
“I think my silence will be enough payment.”
He looked away, contemplating whether to trust me. His sense must of won out, because he left without a word.
“The missing piece,” I whispered to myself as I shook the bag. I pocketed it as I found my way to a bar. The gym would have to wait.
I was surprised when I saw that many people at a bar in broad daylight. Mostly men, but they weren’t what I was looking for. Instead, I found a woman by herself.
I slid up beside her. “Hey.”
She must’ve already had a few drinks, because she her messy hair whipped in front of her face as she turned to me. “Why hello there, pretty boy.”
I leaned in and pointed at a random lady. “You see her?”
Her hair flicked my nose as she searched.
With her back turned, I dumped some of the contents from the bag into her drink. It dissolved quickly.
“Oh, you just missed her.” I gave an innocent shrug as she took a swig from her drink.
We continued talking, but in a matter of minutes, she was dead on the ground.
I was the first to cry for help. One of the bartenders called the ambulance, but they pronounced her dead on sight.
A lot happened between then and now, but it’s all a blur. Someone saw me, and I was quickly a suspect. I didn’t bother denying it—so, they through me in jail.
What was the missing piece, you may be asking. It was the thudding of my heart as I slipped in the poison. The excitement as I saw her fall to the ground. The thrill of the kill, if you may think so.
I finally had my lecture complete, but I would not be the one to teach it. What a shame.
Little Reds
I stared out into the sea of red and white. These little…things were moving around—I couldn’t tell you what they were. They were picking up pieces of my ship and moving them around. I shivered and felt the whole ground quake.
I can’t understand what they’re saying. They speak words foreign to what we learned in preparation, these little reds. Maybe if I attempted to communicate, they would understand. Or, if not that, flee.
My limbs fumbled as I tried making my way out of the ship. They were tangled together in a haphazard nest of tendrils. I cry for help, but the little reds do not understand. They fall back, yelling into their coverings.
I take a step out and breathe in the cold air. My lungs felt as though they had been free from binding, and I could truly breathe again. I look at the lonely red who still stood.
“Tell me, little one, can you aid me in saving my planet?”
The Castle Painting
It didn’t surprise me that the tourists didn’t know the paintings were fakes. They all looked either really young—maybe in their early twenties, still fashionable—or elderly. They either didn’t know or didn’t care.
I, however, did. Art is what brings the world to life. It’s been my passion since I was a young child. I devoted my life to it.
One of the paintings, bearing a group of women in the woods, was claimed to have been from 1826: the Romantic Period. It wasn’t quite right, though. The Romantic Period focused on solidarity. Meanwhile, this seems to have a more societal feel.
I tutted as I continued walking. The farther down the hallway I got, the more apparent it became that none of them were real. Not a single one.
“Hey, could ya move? I’m tryin’ to see.” The large man stood out from the crowd, not only because of his height. He wasn’t dressed in nice attire, and he looked too old to be with the young adults but too young to be with the elders. He was also alone.
I took a step aside.
He found a place next to me. “The name’s Ryan. Not very often ya see dudes here without their chicks.”
“I thought the same when I saw you.”
We watched the painting in silence, examining it. Ryan’s body loomed over my own.
“What’s your interest in the piece?” I asked out of politeness.
“I ain’t sure, man. The way he drew the castle just…drew me in, I guess. I dunno.”
The castle was large and grandiose, with dark stone walls snaked with vines. The name of the castle was at the bottom of the page, and I must say, it does not look as impressive in the flesh.
“It’s a damn fine castle.”
“I would incline to agree.”
Ryan turned to look at me. “Ya don’t sound like you’re around here. Ya visitin’?”
I shrugged. “You could say so.”
“What brings a gentleman like yourself to New York?”
“Simply wanted to see the city.”
“Well, enjoy your stay here, fella.”
I gave him a quick smile, and his face paled.
“Don’t tell me those are-“
“Oh,” I mused. “You’ve never seen a vampire?”
Behind Closed Doors
I slammed the closet door shut as Eddie walked in.
“Hey babe, how was work?” He kissed my cheek.
“It was good, as per usual.” My heart pounded in my chest, knowing that I hadn’t called into work today. If they contacted Eddie about it, he didn’t reveal anything.
“Do anything fun?”
I felt Jonathan’s presence from the closet like a heavy weight on my shoulders. “Nope, just what we did every day.”
“Alright. You aren’t in your work clothes, though—did you get off early?”
He sure was asking a lot of questions, I thought to myself. I nodded.
“Okay,” he shrugged. “I’m going to hop in the shower.”
He grabbed his robe off of the hook and walked into the bathroom. I opened the closet door, and Jonathan came fumbling out. I held a finger up to my lips.
“Quick, once he turns on the shower, leave,” I whispered. “He can’t know you were here.”
Jonathan nodded solemnly. “When are you going to tell him?”
I hesitated. “Soon, hopefully.”
The sound of falling water came.
“Go, please!”
Without anything left to say, Jonathan snuck away.
Off To College
I stared at the bookshelves in my room that filled the walls. They were stuffed to the brim with books, all of which I had adored throughout my childhood.
I stroked the spines of some of my favorites, which were primarily fantasy. I got to visit magical worlds, only to be taken away from them the moment I closed the last book. I didn’t expect to find myself emotional, but I still felt tears pricking my eyes. I let only a few slip before rubbing them off with my sleeve.
“It’s time to grow up, Eleanor. Time for the real world.”
“You almost ready, honey? The drive to NAU is a long one,” my mom yelled from downstairs.
“Yes, I’m coming!”
I blinked back my tears and stared at the books.
“You’ll make another kid happy, like you made me.”
I knew they couldn’t hear me, but they might as well have been my favorite stuffed animal.
I gave them one last look over my shoulder before closing the door.